At least 995 Turkish citizens have applied for refugee protection in Greece after fleeing a post-coup crackdown at home, according to local reports.
The Kathimerini newspaper reported that the Greek immigration office has determined the number of post-coup asylum seekers from Turkey to be 995. The number of Turkish asylum seekers has increased considerably in the past six months, over 236 in February, the newspaper said.
Turkey survived a military coup attempt on July 15 of last year after which the government launched an all-out war against dissidents, especially the Gülen movement, the Kurdish minority and academics from various backgrounds. More than 120,000 people have been detained and 55,000 were put in pretrial detention, while thousands of passports have been revoked since July 15, 2016.
Amid the crackdown, many people attempted illegal entry into Greece, with some arrested near the border and, on some occasions, drowning in the Evros River, the border between the two countries.
At least 408 Turkish citizens claimed asylum in Switzerland in one year after the abortive coup, while 620 sought refuge in Germany in the same period. (turkeypurge.com)
